I am starting this blog to mesh my career of a PE/Health teacher with my new interest in technology and the pursuit of continued education.

This is a relevant topic for me because in my classroom we do not have Health Textbooks. Due to the high volume of students and the constant statistical changes in the topics textbooks are used more for vocabulary checks and general health concerns but the factual information is mostly researched online and formulated into data to share with students. As a teacher I spend tons of time online reading and trying to synthesize the vast amount of information there is available into something important for the students to use. I want to research this topic more because if I am having this type of problem at school I’m sure my students are also going through this type of dilemma. Part of this topic introduces the concern of being able to comprehend and analyze what is being displayed through technology and the other side of this is what will happen to paper books if this trend continues.

Conclusions:

Based on the readings, videos and images I searched I found some positives and negatives to the ever changing technology world. Originally stories were shared by word of mouth, through drawn pictures and eventually transferred to writing, now we read on our phones, tablets and computers every day but not necessarily reading the same way or for the same purpose as Gutenberg originally predicted with the creation of the printing press.

As the digital era takes over we are constantly creating new words and new meanings for old words. Reading on screens has demanded readers to be fluent in understanding what symbols and shortened words mean because people are less capable of reading long text on screens. Advertisements, messages, emails and other distractions divert the readers attention from the on screen text causing less comprehension and slower processing skills than those if the material was in print rather than in pixel. The advantages to using pixel books/articles are the ability to to share thoughts and feelings of the story as well as increase engagement in the classroom. As a teacher if everyone has the ability to read the same thing on a device at the same time and not have to store many copies of the same book and article it saves space and time because you can quickly transition to the next article. With technology a person can do more in depth reading on related topics, or characters where in a traditional book the reader has more time to allow for character development and imagination.

Depending on how a person learns will determine if e-reading would be more beneficial or not. For a student who needs visuals and to take their time reading e-reading would be more beneficial but for someone who learns more by comparing themselves to the characters and letting their imagination run wild traditional print would be better for them. If technology allows in a classroom it would be best to use it for reading as a class and sharing information when possible. For students who need more time to absorb the information or get easily distracted by the use of technology a traditional print material would be best. A teacher should also be proficient in the use of both versions of reading to benefit the broad range of abilities in their classrooms.

For anyone interested in creating an infographic I recommend using easel.ly because the formatting is easy to follow and self explanatory where as infogr.am was difficult because it required more data input then explanations. I played with both sites before choosing to use easel.ly to create my infographic on how technology is changing how we read. The important factor on the topic is that reading is valid in many ways and should not be shied away from because it comes in a specific format. Utilize the best format of reading for yourself and READDDDDDDDD.